


A Fairytale When We Were Young

by vsnow



Series: Grindeldore One-Shots [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Confessions, Falling In Love, Fluff, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Mention of 'lust' the only reason this isn't G, Realist, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-06 23:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17354678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vsnow/pseuds/vsnow
Summary: Albus sat under a tree, reading, as he often did. What was different about this day in particular was the type of book he had his nose buried in.A fairytale.Meeting his newest friend, Gellert Grindelwald, and talking of the Hallows had reawaken something within him. Something he had not been aware he had missed.





	A Fairytale When We Were Young

**_A/N:_ ** _Title inspired by Alexander Rybak’s song Fairytale and The Killers’s song When You Were Young_

_My love of (normally tragic) fairytales really came out with this one. Luckily for our pair it is pretty much all fluff._

_I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 

Albus sat under a tree, reading, as he often did. What was different about this day in particular was the type of book he had his nose buried in.

A fairytale.

Meeting his newest friend, Gellert Grindelwald, and talking of the Hallows had reawaken something within him. Something he had not been aware he had missed.

Fairytales. The beautiful tales of heroics, riddles, and romance pulled him in.

Love and goodness always winning out over the evil forces.

Lessons learned from the depts of despair.

It was so hypnotizing that he did not notice a figure which approached him.

“What are you reading?” The figure asked.

“The Little Mermaid” Albus replied, answering without thought, not realizing at all who he was speaking with or if he was even speaking at all.

The figure sat down beside him, “A muggle fairytale?” The voice was harsh, obvious disgust at the choice.

Albus slammed the book shut, turning swiftly to find, “Gellert?!”

The blond boy hugged his knees, resting his head upon them to stare up at surprised blue eyes, “Wherever did you find it?”

“Your Aunt’s library.” Albus admitted, “She is using it to write a history text for a new Modern Muggle Studies class at Hogwarts. I figured-” He felt oddly ashamed to have been caught reading such a thing. It went against all he and the other had spoken of since their meeting.

“What is it about?” Gellert asked, much to the surprise of Albus.

“Well, I’m not finished yet.” Albus slowly opened the book once more, looking for his lost page, “It is a relatively short story about a mermaid who falls in love with a prince. She saves him, though he never notices her. She goes to a sea witch for help. The witch provides her with potion that will give her human legs, but with every step she will feel as though she is walking on glass. She accepts it all, just to be with him. If she wins his love she will obtain a human soul. And if not she will turn to sea foam. I am currently at a point where she has become the prince’s companion. Even still, he seeks the one who rescued him.”

Gellert was listening intently, looking as though he hoped Albus would continue.

“That is as far as I have gotten.” Albus assured, thinking of what else to say, “Bathilda had told me that it is an allegory for the author’s own life. She told me that he had sent the original copy of the story to his lover… another man.”

“I can see why you are so drawn to it then.” Gellert admitted, finally moving, “I would be myself-” And with some hesitation he added, “-to the tale, of course.”

Albus felt as though he had been slapped, reality was harsh indeed. Fate and true love, all he had been imagining as he read, they all seemed so pointless all of a sudden, “It is a nice thought.” Albus mused aloud, “Something like a ‘true love’s kiss’.” Quick to add, “On a purely intellectual level, that is. To understand why it is written about so frequently.”

Gellert exhaled, “There is no such thing as a magical kiss that tells the future of a relationship. There is no such thing as love at first sight. The mermaid is a fool to give up so much of herself so soon. What she felt for the prince was only lust. I think that if such a love that can be called ‘true’ exists it must come with time to test it.”

“You’re right.” Albus blushed, he hated to agree, once again shutting the book. He found himself no longer interested to read the ending.

Lust. Perhaps that was all Albus felt then. But then again, he had never felt this kind of ‘lust’ before. Why was it different?

“Feel free to poke fun, but-” Albus allowed, feeling the need to honestly speak his mind, “I still love the idea of two being of one soul. Two people bound by something invisible and unbreakable for an eternity, whether together or apart.” He looked into mismatched eyes firmly, waiting for the jeers. Even Albus could hear how naive he sounded.

But nothing came. Gellert only looked back at him, seeming to be deep in thought.

And as the summer wind blew through his hair, Albus removed his reading glasses, placing them in his pocket, “I will be heading back to return the book now. As always, it was wonderful talking with you.”

And he took his leave.

* * *

 

Later that night Albus received a strange invitation by owl.

_-Aunt Bathilda is gone out for the week. Please come. -_

To which he replied:

_-I cannot move past the front door. Aberforth is still awake.-_

It was only a half truth. Albus wondered of himself, _What happened to the boy who set the curtains in his dorm house on fire because he hated them?_

And perhaps Gellert was thinking the same, as he replied:

_-Are you a wizard or not? Sneak out.-_

He could almost hear the other’s voice speak to him though the written words. It seemed as though Gellert would not take ‘no’ for an answer.

Albus was no stranger to sneaking about and breaking the rules. He was so good, in fact, that he was never caught. Normally Albus would have accepted the invitation in a heartbeat. What had happened to make him so cautious?

He chose not to think about how his life had changed within the past month, instead focusing on his escape to the Bagshot residence.

He easily maneuvered his way to the other house.

When knocking on the door produced no audible response, he let himself in. Albus was greeted by the smell of tea and orchid. He had never experienced a fragrance so strong, like a perfume bottle had been broken right at the doorstep.

“Hello?” He asked into the dimly lit room, “I’m sorry for the intrusion.”

“Albus!” Gellert called out expectantly from another room, “Please, come in and have a seat. I will be out in a moment.”

And Albus did so, careful with his steps in the low light, though it was a marked improvement from the dark outside. He brightened the room with a simple spell, illuminating the sitting room he had begun to know so well.

Gellert, true to his word, entered swiftly. An enchanted tea pot followed him. He handed a cup and saucer to Albus. The tea pot that had been following him pored the tea promptly after. Albus was impressed until he remembered who his host was, “Thank you.” He said as he watched the liquid being poured. It was dark, darker than any tea he had ever seen.

Despite it’s strange appearance Albus took a sip.

It was the most bitter drink he had ever tasted in his life, recognizable as being something like tea, yet somehow not at all any tea he had ever tasted before. The surprising lukewarm temperature did not help, “Why did you call for me?” Albus tried to take another sip, finding his experience all the same.

“How do you like the tea?” Gellert asked, seeming hope.

“It’s good.” Albus tried his hardest to not cringe, taking yet another sip to strengthen his point.

Already with a half cup, the tea pot hovered over to him again. Albus quickly shielded his cup, dreading even to finish what he already had.

“Really.” Gellert almost seemed to grin, “I didn’t think my first time brewing tea would be such a success.”

“It’s terrible.” Albus finally admitted, cracking up, “Please, don’t disgrace such precious leaves ever again in this way.”

“I knew it!” Gellert join him in his laughter, “If you are adventures I can make you a wonderful cup of coffee next time. That I do know.”

“I will have to think on it.” Albus calmed himself, “Is this why you called me, to use me as a test subject in another one of your experiments? Because I must say, this is the most twisted one out of all that you have mentioned to me.”  

“No.” Gellert spoke as though he was a witch from a fairytale, stealing innocent souls away, “I brought you here will the evil plan to share some cake.”

“Did you make it?” Albus asked suspiciously.

“Yes.”

They both knew it was a blatant lie.

Albus pointed at the table behind him, “And you wrapped it nicely in the box as well?”

“I’m going to plate it. That has to count for something.” Gellert grinned.

Albus shook his head, not believing for a moment that was all, “I ask you again. Why am I here? Were you lonely without your aunt?” He asked, still eyeing the cake, very distracted by the promise of sweets.

Gellert gently turned the other’s head, placing himself in focus as he proclaimed, “I finished that muggle book you were reading.”

Albus would have to be lying if he said he was not surprised, “Really?”

“Yes.” Gellert felt delight as he watched the other’s face brighten, “Would you like to know the end of your lovely fairytale?”

And though Albus had earlier given up on the tale, he agreed, still in awe that Gellert had took any interest in the story.

“Where you left off. The mermaid and the prince had become close companions, though the prince still wished to be with the one who saved him?”

“Yes.” Albus pressed, absentmindedly bringing the tea to his lips once more. Instantly coughing after taking a sip of the horrible liquid.

Gellert shook his head, taking the cup from Albus’s hands and placing it on the table before continuing, “The prince did find his love. But it was not in the mermaid.”

Albus’s face fell.

“Love was found with another woman. They married. The mermaid fell into a despair. The sea witch provided her with the opportunity to end her suffering. Kill the prince. The mermaid meant to, but seeing the lovers asleep next to one another on their wedding night, she felt as though she could not. For seeing her love happy was enough. She disappeared into sea foam.” Gellert dramatically finished his recounting of the tale, “The end.”

Albus lowered his eyes. It was not the ending he had hoped for, “How tragic.” He shook his head slightly, in disbelief at the loss.

“Is this the kind of fairytale you wish for?” Gellert asked.

“No!” Albus exclaimed, his voice softening to a whisper, “Not at all.”

Gellert signed, “Good. Neither do I.”

Their eyes met once more, “But you said you did not believe in-”

“I don’t.” Gellert assured, sharing once more his previous sentiment, “Love, from what I can gather, is more complicated than a simple ‘happily ever after’ story. Love takes time and work, that is what makes it true. In life, as love, there are ups and downs. Love is simple yet not. The beauty of it comes from the meeting of minds, the communication of equal partners.”

Albus nodded, finding he agreed. The stories had been a nice escape, but what happened after a prince and princess road off into the sunset together?

What really was ‘happily ever after’?

“I wanted to ask you something.” Gellert moved closer, “Something important.”

“I’m all ears.”

Gellert reflected on the odd saying for a moment, but continued, “Do you have feelings for me?”

Albus leaned back slightly, a bit taken aback, “Of course, as I would hope you would as well. I believe us to be close friends.”

Gellert shook his head, questioning if he had used the correct words. For he was not sure if Albus completely understood.

“I like you.”

Albus could only smile, simply restating, “As I said Gellert, I do too, we are f -“

“I love you.”

The confession left his lips speechless.

The tango they had danced together over the past week had now come to an end. For anyone else, it would have been hard not to notice the two falling. But one thought had always separated them.

_I am misreading? His eyes, his body, his words… I am misunderstanding?_

Those three words clarified any uncertainty within an instant.

With the ever present question destroyed, Albus felt free to answer, “As do I.”

And in the frame of the fairytales that he had placed himself in within the last few days, Albus could not have imagined a more beautiful beginning to one than Gellert’s smiling face, relieved and happy.

In any other story this would have been the ‘happily ever after’. But for the two this was just the beginning.


End file.
